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Gods of the Ancient World
The Gods of the ancient world were as real to their adherents as are our Gods today. What is surprising is that many of the tales of creation are surprisingly similar through time, some of which we will be having a look at.
The Greek Pantheon
of Gods
The Ancient
Greeks like the Jews believed that the cosmos and the world was created
out of 'chaos', that is the state of the universe before there was any
order. From this void or chaos came the 'Elder Gods', or 'Titans'. They
were led by Cronus the father God who was the father of Zeus, the God,
Zeus was worshipped by the Greeks as the supreme God in the next order
of deities.
This second generation of gods, led by Zeus, were known as the 'Olympians' and dwelt on mount Olympus in Greece. This second generation of gods were prone to meddle in the affairs of men and alter destiny. They gave rise to fabulous tales and rivalry between god and god, god and man, and man and man.
Many of the Greek myths reflect this, and not only myth for it is said the Trojan wars were sparked by the abduction of Helen the daughter of Zeus and a mortal woman called, Leda.
The Romans also worshipped many of the Greek gods but under different names, these are shown in brackets, e.g. Zeus (Jupiter)
Second
generation of Gods
Zeus
(Jupiter) - son of Cronus, father of gods and men and ruler of thunder
and lightening, symbol the lightning flash.
Poseidon
(Neptune) - god of the sea, son of Cronus and Rhea, Poseidon was the brother
of Zeus, symbol the trident.
Pluto
(Hades) - brother of Zeus and lord of the underworld, symbol the two pronged
fork.
Goddesses married by Zeus and their offspring
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Hera (Juno)
-
sister
and wife of Zeus,goddess of marriage. Offspring-Ares, god
of war, symbol the vulture, -Hebe, goddess of eternal youth, married
Heracles, (Hercules) - Hephaestus (Vulcan)- god of fire & smith
to the gods, symbol the anvil. Hephaestus created the first mortal woman,
(Pandora)
Leto - wife of Zeus. Offspring - Apollo, god of song dance games poetry travel, symbol the lyre. Artemis (Diana), twin sister of Apollo, she was the goddess of hunting and fertility. Themis - wife of Zeus andgoddess of justice symbol the scales. Offspring, The Hours, goddesses of the seasons, also gave birth to The Fates, goddesses over the life and death of man. Maia - wife of Zeus, Offspring, Hermes (Mercury), god of trade sleep wind and air also messenger of the gods, symbol winged shoe. Semele - wife of Zeus - Offspring Dionysus (Bacchus) god of wine and the vine, symbol the bunch of grapes. Often accompanied by the god Pan and satyrs. Demeter (Ceres) - sister and wife of Zeus, goddess of crops & wheat. Offspring Persephone goddess of spring and fertility of plants. Each year Persephone is kidnapped by Pluto to spend some time in the underworld, hence we have to suffer winter. Dione - wife of Zeus whose Offspring was Aphrodite (Venus) goddess of love and beauty. Mnemosyne - wife of Zeus, whose Offspring were The Muses, 9 goddesses of poetry, song, drama, and dance. Eurynome - wife of Zeus OffspringThe Graces, 3 goddesses of beauty and joy. |
Mortals married by Zeus and their offspring
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Alcmene - The son of Alcmene Heracles (Hercules) - this
mortal hero, noted for his strength was eventually admitted as a god into
Olympus.
Danae - The son of Danae, Perseus - was another of the Greek hero's. This one beheaded the Gorgon Medusa and saved Andromeda Electra - Dardanos Europa - The son of Europa, Minos became the 1st king of Crete and founder of the Minoan civilisation. Lleda - was the mother of Helen, who became famous as 'Helen of Troy' after her abduction by Paris, son of the King of Troy. The Dioscuri, sons of Lleda were two brothers Castor &Pollux noted for brotherly affection. |
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